Halo 3:The Rookie
by death7559
Summary: The Rookie. One of those strong, silent, types. After finding himself trapped in a strange alien universe, The Rookie joins on with commander Shepard to hunt down a rogue SPECTRE who may just know The Rookie. On Hiatus.
1. 1 Lot more complicated

Halo 3: The Rookie

A/N: Alright, this is a redone, better version of chapter 1. I'm in school, so I have no idea when I can write, but I am back and will not let the story die.

Chapter 1: A man and his gear

** UNSC Double Tap, Charon-class light frigate, in orbit around glassed UNSC Colony Draco III**

**May 3, 2553, 8 months after war's end.**

Gunnery Sergeant Edward Buck was nervous. The reason why was simple and sad. Down there, on Draco III, were the charred ruins of Karnak, his hometown, and somewhere there, the spot where his parents and sister were gunned down in cold blood. He was scared to go down there and face his past.

His reminiscing was cut short by a short grunt of pain from nearby. Looking up, he saw Romeo stumbling back after bing delivered a short, sharp jab by the Rookie. Bucks frown turned into a tightly controlled smile, as once again the Rookie defended himself against Romeo's attempt's to wake him rom his frequent naps by hitting him with his sniper rifle.

Standing up, Buck's thought's turned from his old family to his new, and he vowed with every piece of his soul that he would protect them. He would do whatever he had to.

**SSV Normandy, May 3, 2183**

**Approaching Arcturus relay**

What many people did not know was that the cockpit of the Normandy was not meant to hold four people in such a small space. Especially when one was a Turian with many sharp, pointy edges.

"Thrusters… check. Navigation… check. Internal emissions sink engaged. All systems online. Drift… just under 1500 K". This was from Jeff "Joker" Moreau, the Normandy's pilot.

"1500 is good. Your captain will be pleased". This second voice belonged to Nihlus Kryik, Turian soldier and Council Spectre. He them turned and left, presumably to find Captain Anderson.

Joker turned and watched him go, making sure he was halfway across the CIC before speaking.

"I hate that guy."

Beside him sat an Alliance Lieutenant, Kaiden Alenko, who, after staring at Joker for a moment, put his head in his hands and sighed."Nihlus gave you a compliment… so you hate him?"

Joker glared at Alenko like the answer was obvious. "Look, you remember to zip up your jumpsuit on the way out of the bathroom? That's good. I just jumped us halfway across the galaxy and hit a target the size of a pinhole. So that's incredible!"

"Besides, Spectres are trouble. I don't like having him on board. Call me paranoid".

"You're paranoid. The council helped fund this project. They have a right to send someone to keep an eye on their investment".

"Yeah, that is the official story. But only an idiot believes the official story".

Commander Jane Shepard, the cabin's last occupant and fellow sarcasm user, leaned in and replied "Joker you always expect the worst, and I believe the official story, officially."

Joker thought for a second but stayed silent, before relenting and sighing, "Well, bad feelings are an occupational hazard. We don't go anywhere unless there's a good reason, so… what are we doing here?"

Before anyone could answer the console beeped and Captain Anderson's voice rose from the

Intercom. "Joker, send Shepard here now, and find a comm buoy, send mission reports to Alliance command, Anderson out."

"Hey, should we have warned him that Nihlus was looking for him?" Joker turned and looked at Shepard, who stared back before turning and walking down the hall. "Well, guess not"

A/N: I'm writing with a tablet so it's slow-going. Next chapter will be longer. Constructive criticism appreciated. This story is not dead.


	2. Chapter 15 codex

**Chapter 1.5 Weapons and armor**

This is a list of The Rookie's weapons and armor's throughout the story. Enjoy. Also please read my redone chapter 1.

Armor: ODST BDU Mk II

\- Increases speed, agility, aim and protection.

\- Mk II shields, capable of resisting kinetic and energy based weaponry.

\- In suit Biofoam dispenser

\- Mk III stealth coating

\- Mk III VISR Helmet-integrated data management system

Weapons:

\- MA5E individual combat weapon system, 32 round clip of M118 7.62x51mm Full Metal Jacket Armor-Piercing rounds with internal plasma.

\- M45E Mk II tactical shotgun, firing 12 8- gauge shells with internal plasma per reload.

\- Sniper Rifle System 99D-S2 Anti-Matériel fires 4 14.5x114mm Armor Piercing Fin Stabilized Discarding Sabot plasma infused rounds.

\- M7S/Caseless Submachine Gun firing 48 5x23mm M443 Caseless Full Metal Jacket plasma infused rounds.

\- BR85 Heavy Barrel Service Rifle firing 36 M634 Experimental High-Powered Semi-Armor-Piercing plasma infused rounds.

\- Hydra Multiple Launch Rocket System firing rocket propelled explosives.

\- 2x M6C/SOCOM (M6S) firing 12 12.7x40mm M228 Semi-Armor-Piercing High-Penetration plasma infused rounds.

\- 6x CQC combat knives

\- M9 High-Explosive Dual-Purpose grenades

\- Thermite-Carbon Cord (TCC)

\- C-7 Foaming Spray

\- M168 Demolition Device

\- UNSC weapon attachment removal/installation kits.

A/N: Just thought I'd post this since I plan to have the Rookie plant a LOT of explosives. And yes, if it seems like I'm nerfing the Rookie, that is intentional.

With the ammo, just imagine the bullets hitting a target and then releasing a payload of burning plasma into the target. Add on 3rd and 4th degree burns.


	3. Chapter 3: The Rookie

Chapter 3: The Rookie

UNSC Double Tap, enroute to Draco III

For some, sleep was a pleasure, for some an escape, for others, simply part of who they were. The Rookie fit into the third. He slept when he could, where he could, simply because he had nothing better to do.

However being asleep and being defenseless are two very different things. So when he heard the now familiar words, "Wake up buttercup." He knew exactly what to do.

He moved forward while ducking under the butt of Romeo's sniper rifle, before coming up and jabbing Romeo in the ribs and then delivering several punches to Romeo's chest. Then he stepped back and simply glared at the man.

Romeo caught his breath, met the Rookie's gaze and laughed. "You keep this up and I'll need a new way to wake you up all the time. Come on, Buck wants everyone."

The Rookie straightened, shook himself, and followed Romeo into the squad's briefing room. Ever since they had dropped into New Mombasa, Buck's squad had been thought of as better and more experienced than most others. This led to more dangerous missions and much better gear. This had also led to Captain Veronica Dare being permanently assigned to the squad and, she and Buck sharing command.

Buck and Dare stood together on the opposite side of the holo table. Mickey and Dutch sat together at the edge of the table, talking about something relating to heavy weapons. Rookie and Romeo were the last to arrive, sitting near the empty area near the table.

Buck turned to face them, a grimace on his face. This alone told everyone present that any hopes for an easy mission needed to go down the drain.

"Alright" Buck said, his Gunnery Sgt. Persona coming into play. "We just got solid intel on covenant troop numbers once we enter the system. The amount of Covenant ships in orbit means once we enter the system, the fleet will take heavy losses. Now we will gain orbital supremacy, and should be able to dust the entire Covy fleet, but, if they counter-attack with anything significant…" He didn't need to continue. They'd be cut off.

He looked at them, his family."Grab your gear and get set, for a combat drop"

There were a number of things a veteran soldier does before combat,the first being checking his own armor,weapons, and ammunition. Nothing beat a good, hand examination of a man's own equipment. The Rookie also checked his comms and Tacpad. This all done, he stepped back and looked at his pod.

It was full of weapons, ammo, gear, and the best things, explosives. To be fare, he was a decent medic but explosives to him was an art. He could bring down buildings faster and with less explosives than anyone else. Still, if his pod got hit or malfunctioned, it would go up like a cursed Roman candle. And everyone knew it.

A voice behind him jolted him out of his musings. "Rookie, you ready to go?"

He turned and looked at Dutch standing next to him. "That time again?"

"Yep"

The Rookie stared at his pod for another moment then turned and sat in the chair as the glass door covered the pod, trapping him inside the pod.

The pod hung in the air, as if suspended, ready to fall at any moment. Suddenly Buck's voice came through the pod. "Alright. Troopers, we are lean, green, and very, very, mean."

At these words, hundreds of pods launched from over a dozen ships, almost making the sky jet black. These things were common during a pod drop. What was not common was the damaged covenant cruiser which appeared from behind Draco III's moon and charged the human fleet, before being promptly torn to shreds.

However the mangled cruiser continued forward, despite being irreversibly damaged. It finally gave into the demands of the human fleet and exploded, leaving the space battle quiet. However, what would not be brought to light until later was that one pod, one particular pod, was caught inside the blast radius of the cruiser's reactor. And, instead of being incinerated like normal, the small prototype micro-slipspace generator, installed inside the wrong pod, activated, sending the pod into the cold, darks of space.

One ODST was about to show the galaxy that humanity was larger, more advanced, and better equipped than the systems alliance could ever hope to be. Because this Rookie was most definitely not a rookie. Not anymore.


	4. Chapter 4: Feet first into Hell

Chapter 3: Feet first into Hell

Alliance colony: Eden Prime, 2183

Nihlus Kryik was not unfamiliar to combat, or to death. He could stand over the mangled bodies of a dozen mercenaries without flinching. However, standing over the bodies of a young human child and her family was something that he, thankfully, could not look at without flinching. She looked to be five or six years old if he was right.

Moving forward, he saw a spaceport in the distance. Since the beacon wasn't at it's dig site, that spaceport was a good location. However, that did not diminish the buzzing in the back of his head which told him that something bad was ahead, something that was going to change him.

"Shepard, there's a small spaceport ahead, I'm going to go check it out" After radioing Shepard, he continued down the path, before seeing a figure appear. He crouched down behind a rock, then turned the corner, as the black figure showed itself as- "Saren?" What was his mentor, his father, almost, doing here, on a human colony? He hated humans.

However Nihlus noted that Saren seemed, calm and content, like he was in no danger from the horrors now infesting the colony. Then Saren turned and it was clear that something was wrong. However, before Nihlus could speak Saren did.

"Nihlus"

Whatever Nihlus had expected, the simple saying of his name, in such a calm fashion, was not it.

"This isn't you mission Saren, what are you doing here?" Saren simply walked around Nihlus, patting his shoulder as he passed. Few things in the galaxy could make Nihlus afraid but Saren acting like this did. It was wrong, him acting so, caring, so… kind.

Saren continued walking around Nihlus, getting behind him, where Nihlus would be vulnerable.

"The council thought you could use some help with this one"

No, that was wrong. Two highly trained SPECTREs simply for a beacon? And, he was reviewing Shepard. He council knew not to send another SPECTRE, it would interfere with the training. Nihlus then accepted the fact that Saren was lying. Nihlus didn't know why but he knew that until Saren told him, he couldn't be trusted.

In a single motion, Nihlus drew his Carnifex and pointed it at Saren. In response Saren turned, pointing his own Carnifex at Nihlus. The two men faced off, mentor and student,each with a deadly pistol at point-blank range.

"Nihlus, Nihlus, Nihlus. I should have known you wouldn't go down easy." You were always to cautious."

"Why? What does killing me accomplish? What are you trying to cover up?" While he questioned Saren, Nihlus's brain was going a trillion miles per hour, trying to figure a way out. The thing was, Saren was better at everything Nihlus could do, and he was a biotic. He had nothing- wait! Shepard! All he had to do was stall until Shepard got here. Right?

Saren, for his part, looked perfectly calm, except for a flash of…, something, in his eyes. Something dark and primal. "Something's coming Nihlus, and for the first time the council won't be able to help us. That leaves me. Join me Nihlus. Together we can save our race, and those of the council. We will truly be the savors of the galaxy"

Nihlus shifted, suddenly even more nervous. What was Saren doing, what was he trying to accomplish? "No Saren, I'm sorry. I don't know what's happening but…, this isn't worth it." Gesturing to all the bodies around them.

Saren laughed, his gun still pointed at Nihlus. "Oh Nihlus, so easy to distract." Too late Nihlus saw the blast of dark energy that picked him up and threw him into the wall with an audible CRACK! He collapsed in a heap, on the ground, immobile.

Through his half-lidded eyes he saw Saren's legs move to within several feet. He then heard the CLICK of a pistol being cocked. Biting back a groan, he raised his head and spit, the wet glob of bloody mucus hitting Saren in the leg.

Before Nihlus could even move, Saren had picked him up and bioticly thrown him into the opposite wall. He knew all his ribs were cracked or broken. All he could do was stare into the sky as once again Saren appeared in his vision, pistol in hand. He crouched and spoke:

"You could have helped save our species, now you will die like the humans." Saren rose and aimed at Nihlus's head, cocking the gun and staring at Nihlus through glaring eyes.

Then, before Saren fired, a large portal appeared, a roiling blue mass of static electricity. Saren stopped, transfixed by the sight, no, more than that, he looked to be recognizing the portal.

Then, what looked to be a dark, almost reflective, pod streaked through the air and plowed straight into Saren.

A/N: Sorry this chapter is so late. Hope you all like.


	5. Chapter 5: Saren's anger issues

Chapter 5: The new guy

Nihlus could only stare as Saren was tossed up and out of sight, the last remaining vestiges of his biotic barrier dissipating as he flew. The black, reflective pod, however, continued on before hitting the wall and halting.

Dark black blood coated the front of the pod, sliding down the metal and pooling on the ground. In addition, The pod's front sported a Saren sized dent in the front. Before Nihlus could get a good view of said dent, the pod's door blew off, impaling it's self in the far wall. Then, out fell a figure garbed in black armor, his helmet rolling out after him.

The figure started coughing, blood splattering on the ground beneath him. Then, the figure suddenly moved to a crouching position, grabbed what looked to be a pistol from his side, aimed right at Nihlus, and fired.

The darkness of space replaced with bright sunlight, the smell of death rich in the air. Rookie punched the door once, twice, a third time. He hit the explosive charges in the corners of the pod, wait until they blew, leaving the way clear. He fell to the ground, coughing up blood from the crash.

His breathing calmed as his memories reoriented themselves. Draco III, covenant cruiser appearing from behind the moon, it's continuing forward motion even when it had nearly been shredded by the MAC guns of the human fleet. It's reactor had gone critical, and his pod had been near the ship.

This thought made him pause. He should be dead, but he wasn't. Defying death was nothing new, but this seemed… different. Like he SHOULD have died, but hadn't.

Suddenly, he realized that he was still crouched outside the pod, in a pool of blue and red blood. And several feet in front of the Rookie, laying up against a corner, was an avian looking alien, which looked to be in pain, and was bleeding dark blue blood. Moreover, this alien seemed to be knocked out or concussed.

Rookie looked at the pool of blood around him, believing that his pod had hit the alien. Not a good way to start relations. However the blood was instead nearly black, like machine oil.

However, before he could make his way to the unfamiliar alien, an odd stuttering, mechanical, noise came from around the corner. Somehow knowing the sound could be nothing good, Rookie drew, aim, and fired as a tall, grey, mechanical looking robot came around the corner, gun raised, before being torn to bits by six 12.7x40mm rounds hitting center mass.

Rookie paused, aiming around, knowing his clip still had six rounds. He noticed that some sort of barrier had appeared and stopped the first two rounds. Then he realized that the alien was, in fact, awake and staring in something close to wariness, as he came to terms with the notion that Rookie had not, in fact, just shot him.

The Rookie rose, his pistol raised, and scanned the area before turning back to his pod and grabbing the emergency Biofoam can, putting on his helmet, walking over to the alien, and crouching over his prone form. The alien tried to raise it's head and say something, before dropping it back down.

He had never been rated an official medic, however the basic training he received when he became a marine, the advanced training he took during ODST training, and tips he had picked up over the years meant he could stabilize a patient and take care of moderate wounds. Or, more exactly, moderate wounds on humans. He knew nothing about this new alien.

Examining the alien's chest, he realized that first, the alien had a hard carapace covering it's body, and second, the beings armor was broken down the middle. This allowed the rookie to stick the nozzle of the biofoam can into the beings cracked ribs and depress the trigger.

The beings eyes shot open as if in pain, however this was not alarming to Rookie, as he knew, quite well, the painful, icy, feeling Biofoam gave when dispensed. The being coughed several times, before breathing deep. The alien then looked at him and said what the Rookie believed to be thanks. All the Rookie did was shrug his shoulders, per usual.

Nihlus fully believed that those shots were for him, were about to impact him and end his life. With no biotics, his shield generator destroyed, his armor broken into pieces, and his weapons spirits knows where, Nihlus had no way to protect or defend himself. So when he heard the dying screeches of a geth, and heard it fall to his right, he was both startled and relieved.

He opened his eyes, barely able to keep his head up, an watched the black garbed being scan the area before gabbing something from his pod. The figure also put on it's helmet before slowly, walking over to Nihlus, crouched down and seemed to examine him for a moment before grabbing a piece of broken armor and inserting the can's nozzle.

Before Nihlus could even wonder what would happen, the sensation of thousands of tiny knives erupted inside him and he groaned in pain. However the feeling dissipated, resulting in Nihlus being able to take several deep breaths. Looking up at the armored figure, Nihlus muttered a thanks. His actions in the last several minutes had been weak. He needed to act like the soldier he was.

First step: become- suddenly a pile of debris several feet opposite the two beings shifted and groaned, before being shot outwards like so many sharp knives. The mysterious figure grabbed Nihlus and threw him down before jumping down next to him. The whirlwind settled, and there, looking black and bruised from the pod, was Saren. His entire body surrounded by blueish-black biotics, his eyes staring both at Nihlus and the newcomer, were alight with anger.

The Rookie shot Nihlus an alarmed look before raising his M6S and emptying the clip into the barrier. While several accurate rounds could drop an rampaging brute, Rookie realized too late that his clip was still half empty from taking down the robot. However, the number of rounds mattered naught. The Rookie only had time to begin reloading the gun before he realized what would happen and was caught in a biotic hold and lifted, struggling into the air, to come before Saren, his eyes almost devoid of emotion save anger and evil.

In one swift movement, Saren delivered a sharp, biotic punch to the Rookie's head, knocking his helmet off and causing such pain that Rookie would have fell to his hands and knees had he not been bioticly supported.

" Humph. Just one more human to kill like the rest. Worry not, your species shall serve your purpose. I shall see to it."

And just like that, Saren wrapped his hand around the Rookie's throat and began to squeeze.

A/N: In case your wondering, yes, I did just leave it as a cliffhanger. Anyways, I'll be putting a number of polls up in recent days to see opinions. I have a number of ways for the story to go, so please, vote and review to share your opinions. Also, I really, really, really like reviews. So here you are. next chapter should be in a coupe of days.


	6. Chapter 6: bad news

Chapter 6: Hiatus

Sorry everyone who thought this was a chapter but i have news. I was initially excited to write this story and i truly love it. However, there is one thing i must share. Years ago me and several early childhood friends created a number of scenarios focused on a group of OC characters. I have now come to grips with the fact that i have lost contact this all of these friends. Most now attend high school out of state. I plan to create a mass effect story with these character, and while i had envisioned having both The Rookie and these OCs in the same story, i feel i couldn't give the Rookie his proper dues.

So, as of now, this story is on hold. Remember, i am doing this because i could not give his character the development he deserves.


End file.
